The 1998 Habano Man of the Year in the Communications category, UK’s Simon Chase –the auctioneer of choice at the Habano Gala dinners- lays bare secrets, longings and experiences linked to his longstanding relation with Cuban tobacco and cigars. You’re said to be one of the world’s best connoisseurs of Cuban Habanos? When and how did that relationship of yours with Cuban cigars ever start? It is a little over forty years since I smoked my first Habano. I was working in an advertising agency and part of my job was to entertain clients in smart restaurants. I would make sure we were offered cigars so that I could have one too. Mark you I had no knowledge about what to smoke. For example I would often choose a Bolivar simply because the famous Venezuelan hero had the same first name as I do. Little did I know that Bolivar is one of the fullest flavored Habanos brands and quite unsuitable for a beginner. Over the past ten years, you’ve been the auctioneer at Cuba’s International Habano Festivals. What has that meant to you? What are the secrets to becoming a good auctioneer? The auctions are great fun, particularly when they are finished. The first one I conducted back in 1999 was terrifying. The late Francisco Linares had asked me to do it, but he was unaware that the only experience I had was auctioning homemade jam at local community socials. I was lucky because a friend of mine put me in touch with a man call Duncan McEuan, who is a top wine auctioneer at Christie’s in London. Generously Duncan spent over an hour on the phone giving me tips on how to do it. I still have the notes of that conversation and have learnt that I must read them again every year just before I go onto the stage. One year I did not and very nearly came unstuck. The most remarkable and satisfying part of the auctions is the amazing generosity of the world’s Habanos smokers. The sums we have raised are simply staggering. That’s why I am still nervous every time I go up onto the stage. Will you please recount some good and bad things that have happened to you during the course of the Habano festivals in Cuba? One of the best things about the Festival is the chance it gives distributors like Hunters & Frankau to introduce Habanos smokers to Cuba and to show them spirit and culture of the people, and the beauty of the country. It gives me great pleasure every time a guest, whether a customer or a consumer, enjoys their time spent at the Festival. In my experience virtually all of them do, which means we are cementing relationships that stand us in good stead for the future. As for bad things, there was one year when I was thrown out of one of my favorite bars, the Vista al Golfo at the Hotel Nacional, for lighting up a Habano. Happily since that year the rules have been changed. As you know, the money collected during the Habano festival auctions is funneled into Cuba’s healthcare system. What do you make of your own contribution to that particular effort? It is important to understand that the role of auctioneer is only one of many that are required for the success of the auctions. There are the artists and craftsmen (and craftswomen), who spend much of the year thinking up the ideas for their humidors and turning them into reality. There are the people at TabaCuba’s factories, who create the very special cigars. And there is the team at Habanos SA Marketing, which directs the program and particularly Luz Maria Alvarez, who makes sure it happens. I am proud to play my part in the team, which has proved quite successful over the years in raising money for what is a good cause. Now that the Habano festival is coming up to its tenth edition, how important do you believe this event actually is? What major differences have you noticed from one festival to the other? At a time when tobacco is so controversial, it is vital to hold an event that inspires all of us who enjoy Habanos as well as those of us who work in the cigar industry. There are hundreds, if not thousands of cigar events taking place around world every year, but this is the one everybody wants to visit. If you were to organize the upcoming International Habano Festival in Cuba, what specific things will you propose? We used to have a whisky and cigar tasting contest, now we have an Armagnac and cigar tasting contest. I would like to see both at the same Festival. In fact I would like to see rum, cognac and port tastings too. Habanos smokers are looking for guidance on what to drink with their cigars. Do you still believe Cuba’s tobacco and cigars are the finest in the world? Why? Yes, because they taste better than any others.